This recipe by Mellow Bites uses an Instant Pot to cook a delicious chicken biryani in under an hour. It’s a great option for busy weeknights when you want a flavorful and impressive meal but don’t have a lot of time to cook.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 6-8 cloves garlic
• Ginger (size not mentioned in the video, but likely around a knob)
• Cilantro (handful)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 2 cardamom pods
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 4 green chilies
• Mint (handful)
• 2 tbsp oil (or ghee)
• 2 thinly sliced onions
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• Salt (to taste)
• 1 finely chopped tomato
• 1/2 kg chicken (cut into pieces)
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder (optional)
• 2 cups basmati rice (or samba rice)
• 2 cups coconut milk
• Cilantro (for garnish)

Instructions:

1. Grind the masala paste: Combine the fennel seeds, cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, cilantro, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, bay leaves, coriander seeds, and green chilies in a blender and grind into a fine paste.
2. Sauté the onions: Heat the oil or ghee in the Instant Pot on sauté mode (high heat) for 10 minutes. Add the sliced onions and sauté until golden brown.
3. Add spices and tomato: Add the turmeric, salt, and chopped tomato to the pot and sauté until the tomato becomes mushy.
4. Cook the chicken: Add the chicken pieces and cook for 1 minute. Then, add the ground masala paste and coat the chicken well. Sauté for 3 minutes. If you prefer a spicier biryani, you can add the chili powder at this point.
5. Pressure cook the chicken: Add 1/2 cup of water, close the Instant Pot, and pressure cook on the “chicken” setting for 10 minutes. You can also use the “pressure cook” custom mode for 10 minutes.
6. Prepare the rice: While the chicken is cooking, rinse the basmati rice.
7. Drain the excess water: After 10 minutes of pressure cooking, let the pressure release naturally for 13 minutes. Then, open the Instant Pot and drain any excess water.
8. Cook the biryani: Sauté the chicken again until the water evaporates. Add the coconut milk and bring it to a boil. Then, add the rinsed rice and salt to taste. Cook on the “rice” setting for 12 minutes.
9. Garnish and serve: Garnish the cooked biryani with cilantro and serve hot.

Tips:

• The recipe mentions that the country chicken has a more intense flavor than regular chicken. You can use whichever type of chicken you prefer..
• If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can cook this biryani in a stovetop pressure cooker or Dutch oven. The cooking times may vary slightly.

I hope this recipe blog helps you recreate this delicious and time-saving Instant Pot Chicken Biryani at home!